Descriptive psychiatry is based on the study of observable symptoms and behavioral phenomena rather than underlying psychodynamic processes. In descriptive psychiatry, the clinical psychiatrist focuses on empirically observable behaviors and conditions, such as words spoken or actions taken.
Modern works sometimes refer to it as
biological psychiatry
Biological psychiatry or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biology, biological function of the nervous system. It is interdisciplinary in its approach and draws on sciences such as ...
.
It was championed by
Emil Kraepelin
Emil Wilhelm Georg Magnus Kraepelin (; ; 15 February 1856 – 7 October 1926) was a German psychiatrist. H. J. Eysenck's Encyclopedia of Psychology identifies him as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric ...
in the early 20th century and is sometimes called Kraepelinian psychiatry.
One major work of descriptive psychiatry is the ''
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (''DSM''; latest edition: ''DSM-5-TR'', published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a com ...
''.
Its focus on observable symptoms contrasts with
dynamic psychiatry's emphasis on emotional processes and the mental mechanisms underlying them. The relative popularity of these two basic approaches to psychiatry changes over time.
Descriptive psychiatry was seen at its low points as "narrow, bloodless, and without real significance."
At its high points, it is considered orderly, systematic, and scientific. Most modern psychiatrists believe that it is most helpful to combine the two complementary approaches in a
biopsychosocial model
Biopsychosocial models (BPSM) are a class of trans-disciplinary models which look at the interconnection between biology, psychology, and socio- environmental factors. These models specifically examine how these aspects play a role in a range o ...
.
See also
*
Dynamic psychiatry
References
Psychopathology
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